I forgot how to access your forum! Please let everyone know that the Dr. Oz segment is TAPING on Friday, but the air date has not yet been set. I didn't realize this & just found out. It might be in 2-3 weeks.

I just wanted to say that from watching Dr. Oz's shows a couple of times, I've noticed that he jumps from topic to topic and doesn't devote much time
to any specific problem. (probably to keep up the interest of the viewers who
don't have too much patience)

Therefore, we should try to be as consise as possible and only mention the most important points we want to get across.

I am really sorry about your husband and son. As a 7 year cfs sufferer, I always feel sorry for my husband and children that they have to watch me suffer and are frustrated that I am not improving with not much hope for
the future.

As far as disclosing about your family members being sick, of course that's up to you but, I am of the opinion that it might not be helpful because viewers might perceive that you might be talking from emotions instead of clinical facts.

Thank you again,

Nielk

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That's what I'm worried about too & why I did not mention that in the GMA Health interview.

In addition to all the very important suggestions so far, I'd like to add that the notion that CFS is a woman's disease now needs to be put to rest. You know better than anyone that is simply not the case. Even if more women are affected than men, there are obviously a lot of men right here on this forum who have CFS. From the little I've seen of the Dr. Oz show, it does seem to be a women's show, and he's playing to that audience. They need to know their fathers, husbands, brothers or sons can become ill with CFS as well.

Finch: You obviously know that that's a very important issue to me (even though I usually focus on women's health), but the producers of the segment have made it very clear that we need to focus on CFS in women. I will try to sneak this point in somewhere, however.

I continue to be baffled by Dr. Oz's decision to focus on speaking to women over men.

First of all, I find it offensive that any medical professional (Dr. Oz in this case) would require that another medical professional only offer information pertaining to his point of interest or point of view, especially when it is medically incorrect. He does seem to be overbearing on his show to the point where I would highly doubt that any speaker would get enough latitude to go off-topic so I don't understand his producer's direction. Agendas are to be expected on television shows, but shows hosted by a doctor should be held to a different standard as they are watched as such.

Secondly, it is well known at this point that more men than women are at home during the day and more women than men are working full-time jobs. It's silly for advertisers to ignore this, but their agenda will change as they lose income. I can't imagine where Dr. Oz's disinterest in this stems from?!

Dr Oz is a tv show. Tv shows go on the air to sell advertising. The person who buys the advertising dictates what the content is. Probably the sponsor is selling products for women (daytime tv is all about women) so he wants to focus on women with CFS.

It is not about someone caring about CFS. It is not conducted by anyone who knows sh** from shinola about CFS. It is certainly not about science. That has been made abundantly clear on Dr. Oz shows previously, including the one with Oprah.

So....best of luck to you, Dr. Donnica! We are rooting for you. I can only imaging it is like venturing into a mine field

Dr Oz is a tv show. Tv shows go on the air to sell advertising. The person who buys the advertising dictates what the content is. Probably the sponsor is selling products for women (daytime tv is all about women) so he wants to focus on women with CFS.

It is not about someone caring about CFS. It is not conducted by anyone who knows sh** from shinola about CFS. It is certainly not about science. That has been made abundantly clear on Dr. Oz shows previously, including the one with Oprah.

So....best of luck to you, Dr. Donnica! We are rooting for you. I can only imaging it is like venturing into a mine field

I was feeling a little worried about your worry about the OZ SHOW. So with the intention of being helpful, I and another forum member (Tree) went over the 2 GMA segments, and noted the the five most powerful of your talking points on those shows. We thought your presentation on there was absolutely superb, and we don't think you need any direction for the OZ SHOW. But just in case you want to know, here are the main points that grabbed our attention most.

TALKING POINTS FROM GMA SHOWS

1. CFS is NOT the same as fatigue or exhaustion, but rather a serious debilitating NEURO IMMUNE DISEASE.

2. CFS affects btwn 1-4 million in the US, and causes MANY DISABLING SYMPTOMS (which you list).

3. Recent research from WPI, the NCI and Cleveland Clinic shows 67 PERCENT of CFS PATIENTS HAVE THE XMRV RETROVIRUS.

4. This is the "GAME CHANGER" that shows a biological basis for this illness, and proves once and for all that CFS is NOT "depression" or "all in your head."

5. Now MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED. We need to take this retrovirus as seriously as the other one - HIV.

WE also love this quote by NANCY KLIMAS (from the NY Times in October), and hope it can somehow be mentioned:

"My HIV patients for the most part are hale and hearty thanks to three decades of intense and excellent research and billions of dollars invested. Many of my C.F.S. patients, on the other hand, are terribly ill and unable to work or participate in the care of their families. I split my clinical time between the two illnesses, and I can tell you that if I had to choose between the two illnesses (in 2009) I would rather have H.I.V."

We are sending you our good vibes, support, and enthusiasm for the upcoming show. Let us know how it goes with the wizard of OZ!